Since we like to talk about FireWire on occasion I thought it worth linking over to an article about (found via Slashdot) what will be the new Firewire spec called S3200. While S3200 is a name only a marketing staffer could love the spec looks good as it will deliver quadrupling of speed (up to 3.2 Gbps) while using existing FireWire 800 cables and ports. That’s a great thing for what is probably the most common use of FireWire, external hard drives. In fact from what I’ve seen, FireWire is pretty much relgated to hard drives and camcorders or digital video decks. Sure there is FireWire used on things like the AJA Io HD or Avid Mojo but for the most part FireWire has been embraced by the digital video industry and that’s about it.

Ahh but look at this quote from the article:

Another FireWire feature likely to contribute to its use in entertainment applications is its peer-to-peer architecture, which paves the way for its use with or without a computer. Already virtually all high definition cable TV company set-top boxes already utilize FireWire ports as well as many models of HDTV. “FireWire is the only separable interface today that can record HD programs in their full digital quality while also meeting the content protection requirements of copyright holders,” he said.

That’s great news for the adoption of FireWire outside of the digital video world. But I’ve had 2 different cable boxes over the years that both had FireWire connections that were unused. I had called the cable company and asked a local rep about the usage of the FireWire ports and all were clueless. The response was that “that was just the way the manufacturer built them.” One person from Comcast did say that they boxes could be upgraded via firmware to add future functionality. I mean… come on… have you ever had the cable company upgrade you cable box via firmware? I know I haven’t.

The article also mentions the usage of FireWire in aircraft and polar orbiting satellites. Maybe there are more FireWire ports out there than I realize. But the mere mention of FireWire as a true (and adopted) home video/theatre connection standard brings up the vision of a new Mac mini connected to my receiver via one tiny cable with audio, video and data going to wherever I had it routed. That would be an Apple TV worth having.